Behind the Recording of 'Off The Wall' - Michael Jackson

[@adamstephenson7518]

Everyone talks about Thriller. Yes thriller is obviously an amazing album. But in my humble opinion. Off The Wall is where it's at. Classic album that just makes you wanna dance.. another great video in the books 🤙🤙

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Thank you! Yeah, It does have a totally different charm to it, a lot more organi>. Don't stop Till you get enough is probably my favourite MJ song.

[@tracylee4451]

I wholeheartedly agree

[@genohall2235]

Can’t Help It for me, but Off the Wall is definitely my favorite MJ era…

[@ihatezgoogle6264]

I also like ‘Off The Wall’ as an album more. Thriller has thriller, beat it, and billie jean in a row. Damn. I guess it’s a little different on vinyl as thriller ends side A.

[@cspr72]

Fully agree. Best album ever made.

[@dopedrums]

Glad Rod got some shine here. His genius is often overlooked

[@mysticakhenaton1701]

and what a hell of a TEAM they were. Quincy, Rod, Michael, and Bruce...may they ALL RIP.

[@spurts]

The reverb on the trumpets on Don’t stop till you get enough is minty fresh

[@mixingmasteringonline]

They do sound amazing don't they!

[@RamonVaqueroImage]

The best MJ album, and one of the best albums ever recorded. Just like you've said, the balance between live instrumentation and synths from the time made an irresistible organic sound, never reached again.

[@tracylee4451]

This is my all-time favorite album. It tops everything for me. I love it. Great collaboration amongst everyone involved ❤

[@actwonder9637]

Sad that all four are all gone now, Mj, Rod, Q and Bruce... what a legacy left behind tho...

[@peterlagroove6555]

For me it's Michael's best album..100 times better than triller..

[@pixelrancher]

My favourite Michael Jackson album. So many amazing people connected to it: Michael and Randy Jackson, Quincy, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Patti Austin, Larry Carlton, George Duke, David Foster, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Porcaro, Bruce Swedien, Paulinho Da Costa, Michael Boddicker. Cream of the crop.

[@aaronknight9759]

John JR Robinson

[@aaronj.brooks1977]

The Off The Wall album is a great album and one of my favorites from Michael perfectly mastered , great songs on this as well one of my favorite songs is Workin’ Day and Night as well as I Can’t Help It , Rest In Peace to the people who contributed to this album Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Bruce Swedien, Rod Temperton, George Duke, Marlo Henderson,Louis Johnson, Johnny Mandel, David Williams , and Wah Wah Watson.

[@danielkannan6246]

Divine marvellous of circumstances that brought these Q quartet squad… MJ, Q,Rod & Bruce … then all the other engineers, artists…

[@puppetsnob]

Great video! We should thank Benjamin Wright, Jr for the amazing string arranging on the album.

[@rezthered]

Love love love these videos. Amazing work.

[@MH-yg7cd]

Enjoying your content mate.

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Thank you! 😃

[@simonsays335]

Great video, thanks for uploading it! :)

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Thank you! 😃

[@PanditMusic]

Another great video. I feel like, for the most part anyhow that records just aren’t made the same way nowadays. Watching this you never fully understood all the moving parts that went into the production of Off the Wall. It was a perfect confluence of events, really. When speaking of dynamics, it goes further than just the engineering aspect but everyone who played on it. Everyone had their own style, their own influence and input. I suppose that’s why a lot of these larger record companies don’t want to produce albums like this now because of everything it took. The time, the money, the effort. Things have surely changed, especially with the studios and digital age.

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Thank you! They really were Maddie very differently back then. Bags of personality coming through from everyone involved.

[@andrecureton6862]

To Me Off The Wall album what's an amazing album great memories from high school

[@gypsycat26]

Good job. This is a great overview of the behind the scenes recording of Off The Wall album. Even though Thriller was an excellent album and had well deserve praise, I felt Off The Wall was a little bit better MJ album. Sonically, the recordings sounded better. The collaboration of the songwriting, arrangements, musicianship and the creative vision of Quincy and Michael is what made this album top notch. From Rod Templeton's time with Heatwave, Michael and other artists, his songwriting was always great. The bass playing not just from Louis Johnson but also Bobby Watson was stellar. JR Robinson's drumming feel added perfect rhythmic pulse to all the songs. Off the Wall was definitely a stand out album not just for Michael but a stand out album for the late 70's.

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Thank you, I agree with all the points you made there. Spot on!

[@RamonVaqueroImage]

Agree, Bobby Watson and David "Hawk" Wolinski (Fender Rhodes) contributions to a previous version of Rock With You were so good that they left them in the final recording. Those previous recordings apparently served as a guide to the top stellar musicians that eventually recorded the final versions- as far as I know, Q and Michael had two musician teams, A and B team, one for the definitive recordings and the other for demos and guide recordings-

[@jimmiesmith5811]

His best album in my opinion

[@1939lb]

Bruce was the X factor

[@gregmize01]

Thanks for these!

[@mixingmasteringonline]

🙏

[@mixingmasteringonline]

🙏

[@MrJsfingers]

Good stuff. Had to be the ObX back then or maybe even the 4 voice.

[@adyhartmusic]

Great video! Thank you! Fascinating!

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Thank you!

[@adyhartmusic]

@ New subscriber! Loving the channel 👌🏼😃

[@TheMusicWiz]

All those Q records from that period...the Dude, Light up the night, Give me the night and Off the wall, all have more or less the same personnel and do sound alike ...but in a great way! Like you say...the last great gathering of sofisticated man and primitive machine 😉 But the trend has reversed somewhat with the emergence of Snarky Puppy and the likes ...and maybe most of all in black gospel. And maybe that's where it started anyway...

[@andrewkeel9029]

This album was better than Thriller but without it Michael would not have been able to have the vision to create it. When "Off the wall" didn't win the awards he wanted, he needed to tap into the pop, rock and r&b genres to reach the world of music listeners. Thriller achieved that and once he cracked the MTV code with the album there was no stopping him from dominating.

[@machinelearng]

Love this video 👍🏼

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Thank you!

[@griiseknoen]

3:55 _"Synthesizers such as the Oberheim OB-8, which is featured on I can't help it..."_ Well... Brace yourself for some incoming nerdy synth corrections... 😀 "Off The Wall" was released in 1979 and the first Oberheim "OB-8" was made in 1983... There is indeed an interview (from the Red Bull Music Academy) where Greg Phillinganes mentions working on "I can't help it" and using the polyphonic Oberheim synth that was available in the studio at the time. Greg remembers it as being an "OB-8", but it was actually the earlier "Eight Voice" model. (made by Oberheim between 1977 and 1980.) Phillingnes specifically mentions that the synth allowed him to program an individual portamento-time for every oscillator, which gives a certain "magic vibe" to the chords as every note slides into the next at a different speed. This technique was only possible on the "Eight Voice", and one of the things that the later "improved" models like the "OB-X", "OB-Xa" and "OB-8" just couldn't do. (To be fair, all these synths are 8-voice polyphonic Oberheim models with similar names, produced within a few years of each other. Let me put it like this: _living legend Greg Phillinganes is not the only one who has gotten these models mixed up._ 😉 )

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Nice synth nerd work, cheers!

[@alejandromagana1554]

Pretty cool video man, thanks so much😊

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Thank you! 😃

[@chumbels]

Had to be Quincy... Would not have been what it is.

[@CanonballKryptoTheKryptonautsI]

Great content, thank you

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Thank you’

[@HowardBobson]

My fave. Also albums during the late 70s early 80s sound superior to me. It was the sweet spot after the mid 70s dead room sound and before the mid 80s gated reverb excess. Albums like off the wall, c’est chic, Avalon, moving pictures (I could go on and on) have just the right amount of warmth and ambiance.

[@waynefoote3781]

Who was Susaye Green? She wrote incredible lyrics for I can't help it. I never heard much else about her. MJ wrote some incredible songs by himself on this set realized through outstanding musicians. He was incredibly musically gifted. The choice of songs was just outstanding. After all of this time i realize that MJ actually CO-PRODUCED his songs WOW! What a hands on cat!!

[@jimmiesmith5811]

She sang with the supremes in the mid to late 70s

[@waynefoote3781]

@@jimmiesmith5811 WOW! Thank you very much.

[@chumbels]

Ha... dont forget. Sanford and sons. And the bill cosby stuff

[@pixelrancher]

Sanford and Son - with a bad note played (and left in the recording) by the great Chuck Rainey!

[@samcockrell]

Them boys on horns are incredible wow 👍🌈

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Yeah, what a sound!

[@rhi-rhicook1616]

Off The Wall is a great album but Thriller is still his best work to date Thriller has 0 SKIPS.

[@pdub414]

Why on earth do you people always conveniently forget to give Guitarist Phil Upchurch credit for playing on Michael Jackson's Off the Wall album? his name is clearly there among the credits.

[@mixingmasteringonline]

Because he was only on one song, theres quite a few unmentioned that featured on only one song too. To be fair though, it is a great performance on Working Day and Night, I should have give him a shout.

[@gregc7699]

Off The Wall beats Thriller hands down I'll argue that forever but hey just my opinion

[@exampleuser7]

Is this a re-up? I know I've watched it already

[@ReneAlexisPenalozaMunoz]

Such a shame sheer racism killed disco.